FLY is Cambridge University's network and forum for women and non-binary people of colour. This blog is a platform for WoC and NBPoC to describe their experiences at the university and beyond.

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About FLY

FLY (Freedom. Love. You.) is a network and forum for women of colour at Cambridge University. It is primarily a safe space, with weekly meetings open only to self-defining women of colour and a closed Facebook page, where together we discuss our experiences, ask for advice, and generally draw strength from being around women who understand and support each other.

The Fly. blog is an off-shoot from this group. The posts are the results of discussions we’ve had within FLY, among other friends, or just from our own private musings. It brings out some of the problems we encounter into a more public sphere but we also use it to celebrate the diverse range of experiences Cambridge University has to offer.

The aim, for now, is to build solidarity among WOC at Cambridge, educate (or at the very least open the eyes of) those who may not immediately empathise with us, and increase the presence of FLY at Cambridge in order to encourage other WOC to apply to the university.

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2 thoughts on “About FLY”

What country are we in that the phrase “person of colour” is how you’re choosing to describe people who aren’t white? It’s pretty controversial whether POC is a non-offensive term or not, but I think that’s enough that you should avoid using it, especially outside of the USA where it’s not very common, anyway. You’re perpetuating the usage of a not very nice term and trying to make it accepted.

I’m extremely confused by this comment, maybe it is worth mentioning that in the UK “person of colour” is not considered an offensive term and is often used when describing non-whites in political and academic discourse. You are correct in suggesting that there are arguments amongst non-whites who dislike the term “person of colour” for various reasons, but it is also favoured above terms like “non-whites” or in some cases “minorities” because of the subjugation implied in those phrases. The term “person/people of colour” is ideal when describing individuals who are non-white but not of the same race or ethnicity (such as the contributors to the FLY blog)

I think you may be confusing “person of colour” with “coloured person” – the latter is indeed offensive because it was coined by white people in America to describe those of African descent, it ensured the maintenance of power through language. In referring to ourselves as “People of colour” we attempt to reclaim our identities by framing the subject of the sentence positively (I am a person first)

Lastly, If you are not a person of colour, your opinion about how we as an oppressed group choose to define ourselves is of minimal significance. I can tell you that the term “person of colour” is neither offensive nor degrading as we have chosen to define ourselves as such.